Stock Your Kitchen: Pantry Staples

It’s been a busy week and I haven’t had time to cook (thank goodness for frozen portions of Chicken Noodle Soup and Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Stew!), so I thought it was a good time to update the Budget Bytes list of Pantry Staples. I made a list five years ago when I first started the blog, but I’ve learned so much since then that the list is sorely in need of updating.

This list of pantry staples are the items that I like to keep on hand to help me whip up a meal with little to no planning. They’re basic ingredients that are used often in recipes and can be bought and stored for long periods. These items are usually fairly inexpensive, have a long shelf life, and can be used and combined with other ingredients in hundreds of ways. Your personal list will take shape as you begin to cook on a regular basis and will differ from mine based on your personal tastes.

Use this list to get a general idea of what items are good to keep on hand, but please don’t feel like you need to go out and purchase all of these items before you begin to cook for yourself. Buy one or two items per week until your kitchen is well stocked and always work within your means!

Dry Goods

Dry goods are usually the least expensive and most versatile ingredients in your kitchen. It’s a good idea to check out the bulk food bins, as they’re often less expensive purchased in bulk than pre-packaged (you can buy as much or as little as you need). If you don’t have fancy containers to store your dry goods, don’t fret. A heavy duty zip top food storage bag will do the job.

Flour: all-purpose, whole wheat

Sugar: white, brown, confectioners (powdered)

Rolled Oats

Rice: long-grain white, brown, jasmine (I love jasmine rice so much that I use it almost exclusively now)

Cornmeal

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Cornstarch

Dry Beans: black, white (cannellini, navy), kidney, garbanzo*

Lentil*

Pasta (long shapes, small shapes, couscous)*

*Since I’m cooking for one, I usually buy dry beans and pasta as needed. If you’re cooking for a larger crowd, it may be easier to keep these on hand.

Oils, Vinegars, and Sauces

These items are essential to giving life to your food. They add flavor, zing, and can be used to make a million different dressings and sauces that will liven up even the most boring meals. Again, these items are pretty basic and inexpensive, and most don’t need to be refrigerated. Don’t worry yourself over buying top quality when you’re just starting out. Until you become more experienced in the kitchen and your taste develop, you may not be able to tell the difference anyway. Stick to what you can afford and I promise you’ll still be able to make good food!

Herbs and Spices

It’s true, more expensive spices are often better quality than less expensive spices, but you can still make an amazing meal with basic grocery store spices. Buying spices in bulk is a great way to save and they’re often very fresh and high quality. Retailers like Whole Foods Market, health food stores, and some larger grocery chains offer bulk spices near their bulk dry goods. If you don’t have a small container to keep them in, save the old store brand container when you run out and then refill with spices purchased in bulk. Ethnic food markets are also a great place to score high quality prices for far less than regular grocery stores.

This list is highly personalized and will differ greatly depending on what kind of cuisine you like.

Canned Goods

This is a category that I tend to purchase as needed because I’m only cooking for myself and I don’t have much room for food storage (I didn’t even have enough on hand to take a photo!). If you’re cooking for a family, it may be helpful to keep these items around:

106 comments on “Stock Your Kitchen: Pantry Staples”

Thank you so much for the helpful tips Bethany! What would you suggest using the pumpkin purée for? Perhaps a fresh pumpkin, chicken and garbanzo soup, with a sprinkling of sriracha and topped off with some edamame beans? Thank you so much Beth, honestly helped me so much in my low cost budget xxx. P.S. do you not use bread? I find it can be a bit too full on with all the disgusting carcinogenic carbohydrates. Thanks again honey x.

I just wanted to add that in my canned goods section I agree with (and have) all of what you listed. But I CANNOT make it without canned evaporated milk and lots of it! :p You see I have a husband and 2 teenage girls who can easily empty a fresh gallon in a mere 24hrs. :(

Also I add to my staples list a list called “seasonal” and it includes things like “mixed nuts
by the pound” which I get every year in the fall, veggies are listed in the available fresh season as well.

I also have a freezer list which includes lots of fish. Tilapia (5 lbs at a time) Wild salmon (rarely as it is expensive) and shrimp (salad shrimp in a big bag)
As well as egg roll wraps, phillo dough and other staples.
This was fun sharing and we have similar tastes mostly. Maybe it’s because i am a Beth too! ;)

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »